Sitting Properly

Longreads · 4 min read

A chair you can lift with one finger is usually a chair you will replace within five years. Weight is not the whole story, but it is a decent first signal about the joints underneath.

Joints, not surfaces

What fails first is almost never the seat. It is the point where the leg meets the frame, and a joint that is glued and pegged rather than stapled is the difference between a decade and a season.

Sit in it for ten minutes

Comfort in the showroom means nothing. The chairs that last are the ones still comfortable after a long meal, and you cannot learn that in thirty seconds.

Old ones have already proved it

A chair that has survived forty years has passed a test no new one has taken. Reupholstering is often cheaper than replacing, and the frame is the part worth paying for.

A chair you can lift with one hand rarely lasts a decade.

Written in one sitting.